I just bought a 1984 D-150 at auction today for $100. It runs and drives great, but it has 2 major problems. 1. It has no title, therefore I can't put it on the road until I either get the paperwork cleared through DMV. 2. The frame is almost rusted in 1/2 right where the cab and bed meet therefore preventing it from passing safety inspection.

I'm not looking to restore this truck, just looking to make a good work/farm truck and maybe a commuter vehicle to go to school on, to keep from running the miles up on my '04 F-250.

Everyone I've talked to says I should just have the frame repaired at a welding shop, but I think I'd feel better if I swapped my good parts into a truck with an already solid frame. The flanges are non-existant for about a 10 inch stretch on the passenger side frame rail, but the vertical part is still there, however it is beginning to get weak spots in it as well.

This truck is an ex-US Forest Service truck and only has 36,000 miles according to my observations (yes, the odometer still works and appears to be accurate). Now I know it only has a 5 digit odometer, but the dashboard is next to perfect with no fading or cracks, the pedals have almost no wear on them, and the seat is in better than normal shape for its age. The oil was very clean and the transmission fluid is just as red as if it had just came out of the bottle. It's like the engine and transmission were maintained religiously, but they never washed the mountain salt or saltwater (either a mountain truck or a coastal truck) off to keep the frame from rusting so bad.

I'm playing around with the idea of finding a good chassis and better body and swapping my engine and trans. in it and tuning it up for good gas mileage.

Any opinions are welcome and appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Don't even mess with it. That's an opinion coming from a guy that has a '79 Ramcharger with a body that's about ready to fold in half.

Pull the drivetrain if you must, but don't mess with the rest of the truck. It's not worth it, and it sounds like it's not very safe to be driven on the road to begin with.

 

Id try and pick up a good frame that the body is falling off of and just swap your body onto it. You can try and get the frame repaired but if its as bad as you say, its gonna cost a lot. As for the title, if you did that, you could take the vin from the other truck and use it on your clone truck.

 

Well I did some looking around this week and found 3 possible candidates for my project. I was directed to a particular location nearby and this guy has 5 older Dodge trucks, and 3 of them have my attention.

1. 1982 D-150 longbed, 318, blown 727 auto, 250k miles, some dents and surface rust, parked for 6-8 years after trans. died.
2. 1978 W-100 Power Wagon 4x4, 318, auto, was told it was bought for parts, but did not appear to be missing much if anything, body appeared to be ok, but had some surface rust.
3. 1975-76? D-300 regular cab flatbed dually, good 360 (ran when parked, sat for 8 years), bad clutch, good 4 spd. manual. Cab appears to be in good shape with no visible rust or dents other than the grille.

The one ton seems to have my attention the most because it is in the best shape and I think my motor would do fine in it, at least while I freshen up the 360. The owner said that it was his fathers and he wanted to get rid of them since they are just taking up barn space.